5 Things Hurricane Sandy Changed for Good

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Some people and places may never be the same since Hurricane
Sandy hit the northern Atlantic Coast on Oct. 29, 2012. The
lingering effects include lives lost and irreplaceable mementos.
Barrier islands were changed forever. But the vulnerabilities
revealed by Superstorm Sandy could also help make the East Coast
better prepared for the next big hurricane.

Superstorm Sandy was a "post-tropical cyclone" — not a
hurricane — when it pummeled the northern Atlantic Coast. This
meant responsibility for storm warnings had shifted from the
National Hurricane Center to the National Weather Service and its
fleet of local weather offices. Instead of one unified message,
there was a flurry of individual warnings from the weather
offices, resulting in widespread confusion about the nature of
the threat from Sandy, according to an assessment by the
University of Pennsylvania published in November 2012.

Now, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
which oversees both agencies, has changed its policy. Even if a
massive storm like Sandy drops below the tropical-storm category,
the National Hurricane Center can still issue storm watches and
warnings.

2.Barrier islands shift

Barrier islands are the long, thin offshore islands that help
protect the mainland from a powerful beating by storms.
Superstorm Sandy pummeled barrier islands in New York and New
Jersey. New York's
Fire Island lost more than half of its beach and dune sand.
In Mantoloking, N.J. (a borough of Ocean County, N.J.), almost
the entire dune vanished from the borough's barrier island. Waves
also breached, or cut through, islands in both states.

Drowning poses the highest risk of death during hurricanes. New
evacuation zones in New York City and new storm-surge maps for
the Atlantic and Gulf coasts will help save lives in the next
storm.

In New York City, the worst damage came from Sandy's storm surge.
The flooding went beyond the city's mandatory evacuation zone.
The new maps add 600,000 more people to possible evacuation zones
and divide residents into six zones, for a more detailed risk
evaluation. [ Storm
Surge Video: Deadliest Part of a Hurricane ]

In July 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey released a new
assessment of coastal vulnerability to storm-surge flooding and
erosion from hurricanes.

4.New York gets phone friendly

Immediately after Hurricane Sandy, New Yorkers who still had
power snaked extension cords and power strips out their doors and
windows so strangers could charge their phones. A lifeline in the
days following the storm, these impromptu charging stations are
now a permanent feature. AT&T began installing solar-powered
charging stations in June 2013 at 25 parks, beaches and other
popular outdoor spaces throughout the five boroughs.

5. Lost homes

Some people will never move back home — their houses were on sand
washed inland or taken out to sea. Others have accepted federally
funded buyouts, including 300 homeowners on New York's Staten
Island who have agreed to a permanent move. They will sell their
homes, which will be razed and converted into a park or back to
marshland.

Editor's note: The location of Mantoloking
in Ocean County, N.J., not Ocean City, was corrected.